Peregrine Falcons

Peregrine falcons are hawk-like raptors, or birds of prey, that eat other birds. Historically they nested in the alcoves and ledges of 300 foot lime stone cliffs of NE Iowa. Peregrine falcons were lost as a nesting species during the biocide era of the 1950s and 1960s. DDT was the problem, and when it was banned in 1973, work began to return falcons. During the 1980s and 1990s, concerted and synchronous efforts to release young peregrines in cities and wilds were embraced. Falconers Lowell Washburn, Dave Kester and Dr. Pat Redig discuss their efforts to return these birds to the Mississippi Flyway.